How often have you woken up to see a large zit named Larry on your face, right at the centre and screamed in agony? Or woken up after an unsatisfying two hours of sleep, looking like a zombie fresh out of the grave? Fear not! For there is one simple solution to your problems... by the name of... wait for it... concealer!
That multi-faceted product that can give you the appearance of having slept eight hours (when you actually partied the night away) or cover up those scars (like you never had any to begin with), pigmentation and tattoos… It’s something a lot of people are intimidated by, but honestly, it’s easy once you get the hang of it. So, here are some tips that can help you become as dependent on the concealer as a groggy person is on coffee.
Pigmentation is something a lot of us can’t do much about. Yes, there are treatments and creams that claim to make you look 20 years younger and as pale as a vampire, but there’s nothing as helpful as a little colour correction.
Now, let us take a little trip down memory lane – remember that colour wheel you learnt about in school? Using that as a reference, think back to complementary colours (Google can help you here if your memory fails), for example, red and green. When you look at that under eye pigmentation, chances are you’ll see a faint blue tinge. Since orange counteracts blue, boom, you have your solution.
While a salmon-coloured concealer can work wonders in correcting pigmentation under the eye, yellow/olive/green in it can take away the redness from blemishes and scarring.
But remember, less is always more. Nobody wants you to walk around with orange circles under your eyes and green dots on your face.The next thing that you keep in mind with regard to concealers is the various types of finish and coverage.
Most concealer pens (such as YSL Touche Eclat, Maybelline Dream Lumi Touch) are highlighting concealers, meaning they have light-reflecting particles that draw attention to those areas. So, around the tops of your cheeks, down the centre of your nose, the centre of your forehead etc. are good places to use this. What you don’t want is to add this to a blemish and draw even more attention to it.
Full-coverage concealers are great (MAC Pro Longwear, Bobbi Brown Creamy Concealer), and my personal favourites. They can be sheered out using a moisturiser or used in a concentrated area to cover something.
A little tip for those of you who have hyper pigmentation or acne/blemishes... don’t cake your face with a heavy base; instead, use a light base and use concealer over the areas that need to be covered and pat.Last but not the least, probably the golden rule with concealers, always pat – never swipe. So, place, pat and powder.
Just remember, your face is beautiful no matter what issues you may have with it. Concealers are here to cover those little problem areas and let those gorgeous features shine. So give it a go!
